At the end of the topic, you are expected to:

• Differentiate between Human Acts and Acts of Man

• Evaluate a moral experience vis-à-vis the constituents of human acts
• Weigh the importance of freedom as the foundation of morality
• Classify actions as human acts or acts of man

WHAT MAKES US HUMAN

1) Write five qualities that makes you “human”.

2) Choose five animals and then list atleast five ways you (as human being) differ from
them, as well as your similiarities.

ANIMAL SIMILARITIES DIFFERENCES

Ex. chimpanzee Both humans and Humans can reflect
chimps can predict upon their thoughts,
potential direct while chimps probably
consequences of cannot.
actions- for example,
taking food away from
another. Both can think
about things they see,
taste and touch.

3) From the list, identify the main ways humans differ from most of the species on the list.

1) Which of the animals do you think is the most similar to human beings? Why?

2) Now, try to be more specific. How do human beings differ from other species in terms of:
• Brains;
• Language and Symbols;

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 • Social Life?
3) Can animals be responsible for the consequences of their actions

There are two general forms of acts: ACTS OF MAN and HUMAN ACTS.

ACTS OF MAN
Involuntary Natural Acts. These include the involuntary, intuitive or reflex acts
exhibited by man, such as the blinking of the eye, the beating of the heart, sneezing,
yawning, breathing, scratching, and other

Try! Confirm for yourself if they are indeed involuntary!

• Stop blinking for five to ten minutes

• Stop breathing for five to ten minutes
• Stop your heart from beating
• Stop your stomach from digesting the food you have
taken during breakfast

Voluntary Natural Acts. They include parts of our daily activities, socially learned
activities such as brushing our teeth, combing our hair, cutting our nails, taking a bath,
etc.

HUMAN ACTS
A HUMAN ACT is an act that is deliberately performed by one possessed of the use of reason.
Deliberately performed means that it is done freely and knowingly.

The Relation of Human Acts to Reason

1) Good – when they are in harmony with the dictates of right reason.
2) Evil – when they are in opposition to these dictates
3) Indifferent – when they stand in no positive relation to the dictates of reason.

Knowledge. A human act proceeds from the deliberate will. Napag-isipan. Napagnilayan. As
an agent, you must know both the nature of the act you are about to perform and the
possible consequences that may come after.
Freedom. A human act is an act determined by the will and nothing else. This means that you
are not forced nor coerced to perform an act.
Voluntariness. It is the formal essential quality of the human act. Both knowledge and
freedom are present. Ginusto mo.

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 A human act is a conscious, voluntary and free act (alam mo, gusto mo, at malaya
mong ginawa). Thus, you hold responsibility for your actions. If your act turns out to be good
then you deserve the good consequences that come after. If your act turns out to be evil, you
are held accountable for the negative impacts.

Freedom is referred to here as internal or

psychological (the freedom to decide), and not to
external freedom (the freedom to carry out one’s
decision).
Internal freedom, or free will, exists when the
decision of the will is necessary and unavoidable. It
consists in choosing the means for an end. This includes
the freedom to choose between doing an action or not,
and of choosing between two possible actions.
Freedom implies knowledge; ignorance is an obstacle to the capacity to choose. Thus,
freedom depends on truth. Even more, freedom makes man more capable of loving truth and
growing in the knowledge of moral values. Truth is not the same as “opinion” or “one’s own
judgment,” but rather an objective reality.
A free act is always voluntary, since something is chosen through the will (voluntas),
according to what the intellect—also led by the will—concludes and presents. Freedom is a
necessary condition for acts to be fully voluntary. Freedom we understand (rather than the
choice itself) mastery over one’s acts: self-mastery and self-determination, which allow man
to master himself and to act by himself.
Freedom makes you responsible for your actions to the extent that they are voluntary.
The way to acquire and develop one’s freedom is to make good use of responsibility.

At this point in time, do you consider yourself “free”?

1) go back to your answer to the pop-question.

• Why do you consider yourself “free”? Why not?
2) Recall concrete experiences when you did something out of ignorance?
• Why did you do it despite the lack of knowledge?
3) Recall concrete experiences when you were forced to do something that is against
your will?
• How did you feel after doing it?
• How did you respond to the external force?
4) Was there any action or decision in the past that you regret for not taking
responsibility?

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